Beverage School at BevNET Live is designed to be an on-ramp for those who are new (or relatively new) to the beverage industry. Early-stage entrepreneurs who take part in the half-day program will the chance to get an overview of the beverage business from product formulation through retailing, all in a special session to be held the day before BevNET Live commences.
Time is running out to submit your brand for BevNET's "Best of 2012" Awards! November 15 is the last day that we are accepting submissions for our 9th annual “Best of” awards, which are announced in December and feature the top brands in over 12 categories. Winners will be invited to participate in the awards presentation at BevNET Live Winter 2012, and will have the ability to use the BevNET Best of 2012 logo in press releases, marketing materials, and product packaging.
In his book The Rise of the Creative Class, Richard Florida wrote about the function that cities have had in the rapid growth of an economy based on creativity. So how does that relate to the beverage business? Not necessarily directly – after all, much of the beverage industry is outsourced to factories that manufacture either centrally or regionally and then redistribute their production to wider areas. But on an entrepreneurial level there is an interesting relationship.
So Real is a new line of all-natural functional drinks formulated with vitamins, electrolytes, antioxidants, calcium and dietary fiber and designed to provide energy, hydration, recovery and wellness to consumers. While the functional benefits are nice, So Real's name and branding are somewhat confusing in the sense that it’s not really clear what this product’s primary purpose is.
For many consumers, the word alkaline conjures up that old ad campaign for Energizer batteries– remember the small mechanical bunny rabbit, batteries attached to its back, marching and pounding away at a bass drum? It kept going and going and going… It was the alkaline content in the batteries that Energizer attributed to the everlasting power of the toy rabbit, and today, some beverage marketers are claiming that alkaline-infused water will help humans keep going and going as well.
BevNET Live will feature an opportunity for entrepreneurs to check out their ideas with the experienced eye of noted designer Ian McLean, who will be on hand to answer questions and analyze proposed designs in a unique "workshop" format.
Hawaiian Ola is a new energy shot that is made with 75 percent juice - derived from a range of fruits including noni, mango, pear, apple, acai, goji, and lilikoi juice - as well as green tea and yerba mate, which give the product 140 mg of natural caffeine. For a category that really has only one player, the product has some meaningful points of differentiation, and it certainly seems like something that will be right at home in the natural channel.
A Texas man has filed a class-action lawsuit against Vital Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the makers of VPX Redline, claiming the product made him sick and was marketed deceptively. Redline, an energy drink known for having extremely high concentrations of caffeine, also contains a wide variety of ingredients beyond caffeine-containing compounds, including Yohimbine, 5-HTP, evodiamine, tyrosine, and vinpocetine.
Faced with a drumbeat of negative publicity relating to revelations that the FDA has reports of five deaths associated in some way with the consumption of Monster Energy since 2009, the company has issued a statement denying its products played a role in the death of 14 year-old Anais Fournier last December.
It may not have been the exact deal that Pro NRG founder Tanya Patruno was looking for, but walking away with a $250,000 investment offer on the reality TV show “Shark Tank” could end up being a critical win for her fledgling beverage brand.
Less than a week after the company severed ties with disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong, FRS is placing Tim Tebow, its squeaky clean spokesman, squarely at the forefront of a major marketing initiative. Today, FRS announced a new national campaign promoting its relationship with the New York Jets quarterback, who, as a result of Armstrong's departure, is now the premier endorser of its line of quercetin-based line of functional drinks and powders.
Did your company launch a new product in 2012? If so, time is running out to enter BevNET’s Best of 2012 Awards. In addition, your product will be included in…
Already the target of an investigation by the New York state attorney general’s office into how the company packages and discloses its caffeine content, Monster Beverage is a facing a new lawsuit alleging that the high caffeine content in its flagship beverage contributed to the death of a Maryland teenager last December.
With nearly one in five U.S. adult consumers now purchasing or consuming products tagged as gluten-free, sales of gluten-free foods and beverages are expected to reach $4.2 billion in 2012, according to a new report from Packaged Facts. As consumers increasingly shift toward healthier lifestyles and become more aware of gluten-free offerings, the category has risen at a compound annual growth rate of 28 percent over the past four year period.
